industry

captain of industry

A wealthy and powerful person in the business world. Her family will never accept an unemployed artist like me—they expect her to marry a captain of industry. Do you want to come to the gala with me and hob-nob with some captains of industry? He's no captain of industry, he's just some country bumpkin!

See also: captain, industry, of

cottage industry

1. A small-scale industry carried out by people in their own homes. When my grandmother was a girl, she was part of a cottage industry that made textiles, along with the rest of her family. I'm worried that what he thinks is a benign cottage industry is really a pyramid scheme. Our bakery started out as a cottage industry in both of our homes until we outgrew those spaces and needed access to an industrial kitchen.

2. A small (and often loosely organized) network or business. It looks like you guys have a nice little cottage industry raking leaves. Back in my day, the neighborhood kids had a cottage industry shoveling snow in the winter. Now, no one's interested in leaving their warm homes, even for a few bucks. My friends and I really like making bracelets, and we've kind of struck up a cottage industry selling them to our classmates at recess.

3. An area of study pursued by a few passionate people. I understand that not everyone is interested in tracing minute details in modernist texts, but it's a cottage industry for a few people in the Master's program, like myself! Beekeeping must be a cottage industry for people intrigued by entomology, and, specifically, the behavior of bees. I'm sure Ulysses is a cottage industry for people who enjoying reading a really confusing text and several explanatory texts simultaneously, but that is not me!

See also: cottage, industry

the bottom falls out of the industry

The sales of a particular product, or in a particular industry, stop. The phrase is often accompanied by "if" or "when," and the type of market is usually specified before the word "industry." If the bottom ever truly falls out of the automotive industry, we could have another Great Depression ahead of us. The bottom fell out of the film-camera industry when digital cameras arrived on the scene.

See also: bottom, fall, industry, of, out

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

captain of industry

Fig. a high-ranking corporation officer; a wealthy and successful capitalist. The captains of industry manage to hang on to their money no matter what. It's fun to see those captains of industry drive up in their limousines.

See also: captain, industry, of

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

a captain of ˈindustry

a person who manages a large industrial company: He later moved to Seattle, where he became a well-known figure and captain of industry.

See also: captain, industry, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017